MONTREAL - The Expos added some needed power to their lineup Friday, signing third baseman Tony Batista to a one-year, $1.5-million contract.
Batista, a two-time All-Star, hit .235 with a team-leading 26 home runs and 99 RBIs last season with the Orioles. He averaged 31 home runs the past five years, including a career-high 41 for the Blue Jays in 2000.
He joins newly signed outfielder Carl Everett in the revamped Expos lineup with the expected loss of All-Star Vladimir Guerrero to free agency. Everett signed a two-year contract with Montreal on Dec.16.
INDIANS: Free agent Ron Belliard signed a one-year contract. Financial terms were not available. Belliard, 28, played for the Rockies last season, batting .277 with eight homers and 50 RBIs in 116 games. But most of Belliard's statistics were better in Coors Field than on the road. His batting average was 50 points higher, he hit six of his homers in Denver and had 31 of his RBIs at home in the high altitude and thin air. Belliard made 15 errors, tied for second highest among NL second basemen.
OBITUARY: Paul Owens, general manager of the Phillies' 1980 World Series championship team, died after a lengthy illness in Philadelphia. He was 79. He also managed the Phillies team that won the NL pennant in 1983.
HOCKEY: Americans open with win
Zach Parise had three goals and an assist to help the United States open the world junior championships with an 8-0 victory over Austria in Haamenlinna, Finland. Parise, the son of former NHL player J.P. Parise, is a sophomore at the University of North Dakota and was selected 17th overall in the NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils. On Sunday, the United States faces Slovakia, which opened with a tie at 2 against defending champ Russia.
HORSES: Funny Cide looks to '04
Funny Cide remains on target for his 4-year-old debut in the $500,000 Donn Handicap Feb. 7 at Gulfstream Park. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner had his first run at Palm Meadows training facility, working a half-mile in 49.6 seconds. "We're not in a hurry with this horse," trainer Barclay Tagg said. That's a far cry from last season, when the 3-year-old gelding won the Derby and Preakness before finishing third in the Belmont Stakes in a failed bid to win the Triple Crown. Funny Cide then finished third in the Haskell, was scratched from the Travers with health woes and finished ninth in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
SANTA ANITA: Florida-bred Southern Image beat fellow long-shot Marino Marini by a head to win the $250,000 Malibu Stakes. Southern Image, with Victor Espinoza aboard, paid $29.40, $13 and $5.60.
TAMPA BAY DOWNS: Western Pride, who has 10 wins in 28 starts, was the 5-2 morning favorite for today's $60,000 Pelican Stakes for 3-year-olds and older.
ARENA FOOTBALL: Tampa Bay signed former Atlanta Falcon Elijah Williams. Williams, who was a cornerback and nickel back with the Falcons from 1998 to 2001, will compete for a spot at wide receiver/defensive back. Williams was a sixth-round draft choice by the Falcons in 1998 out of Florida. In 49 games with the Falcons, Williams had 78 tackles playing mostly nickel back.
BUSINESS: Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable operator, reached a temporary agreement with Cablevision Systems Corp., owner of Madison Square Garden Network and Fox Sports New York, to continue airing the sports channels after their contract expires Wednesday. The companies are working on longer agreements. Cable sports channels including ESPN are negotiating with cable operators such as Cox Communications Inc. to renew agreements. Operators and programmers are considering offering more sports channels in packages that cable customers pay extra to receive.
